Customer Reviews

Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation 1939-1944

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book in college as part of one of my history papers. Being 2nd generation Polish, it was important to read the full story of the genocide in Poland, and that it was not just limited to the Jews. Lucas does a fine job of showing all aspects of life under occupation, and that ALL Poles suffered, regardless of religion, gender, occupation, etc. Poland lost 15-20% of her population during the war, the most of any country, and they came from all walks of life. I was glad to see somebody finally wrote a boook about the "forgotten" millions who were murdered simply because they were born Polish. This is a must read for anyone interested in Poland or European history.

This second edition of the book contains new chapters. One of them contains a list of Polish gentiles, murdered by the German occupants, while attempting to assist Jews (Poland was one of the only countries where the death penalty was handed out by the Nazis to anyone who gave the slightest assistance to the Jews). Of course, this list is but a drop in the bucket: The actual number of Polish gentiles strongly assisting Polish Jews, but caught and slain by the Germans for helping Jews, is estimated to be as high as 50,000.

The second new chapter is a discussion of Zegota: A clandestine Polish underground organization for assisting Jews. At its height, it consisted of tens of thousands of Polish gentiles in German-occupied Warsaw alone--all working under the threat of death if caught.

Lukas also discusses Polish collaboration with the Nazis, but shows that, contrary to much popular Holocaust material, this level of collaboration was much smaller than those of most other German-occupied European nations, and was also dwarfed by the number of Poles who assisted the Jews.

Earlier, Lukas documents how 3 million Polish gentiles were murdered by the Germans during World War II. This is very rarely mentioned in most Holocaust materials. Also included is discussion of the cultural genocide of Poland: the systematic, barbaric German practice of systematically destroying visible traces of Polish culture (monuments, libraries, museums, etc.). If you are one raised on the belief that only Jews suffered in the hands of the Nazis, you are in for a shock when you read this excellent book.

Very few people are aware of the fact that 3 million Polish gentiles were murdered by the Germans during World War II. And most of these were not involved in anti-German activity at all. Clergy and intellectuals were murdered in disproportionate numbers. Lukas documents this and many other facts in painstaking detail. The book is a must for those interested in the FULL story of the Holocaust.

This book is exactly what it advertises - a history of Poland while under German occupation. After years of hearing only about the anti-Semitism of Poles, and their willingness to coldly turn in their Jewish neighbors, it is refreshing to read of what the majority of the country took part in. The tales of Polish resistance are truly remarkable and valuable for anyone interested in the truth of WWII.

Lukas never makes an attempt to minimize the Jewish experience in this book; he only brings attention to the fact that five million non-Jews were also exterminated, and for Hitler, as soon as Europe was free of Jews, the Slavs were next. I found it a very valuable, scholarly read.

This is one of the best overviews of the German occupation of Poland. This book explains how it "felt" to live under the Nazis. The Underground press, Underground schools, boycotts, posters, attacks on SS officers, plays and movies, cafe life: these details paint a priceless picture. Chapters also cover efforts to assist Jews, and the Warsaw Uprising. Anyone with any interest in this story should have a copy.

This 200+ page book is certainly worth reading and having it in one's own personal library for future reference. There are not enough books written about the WWII experience of Gentile Poles under German occupation. The Polish nation was targeted for annihilation. Much is written about the Jewish people's suffering
and not enough about the suffering of the Christian Poles. Who suffered more is not the issue....... both went through terrifying experiences !!!

I highly recommend this book especially for all those who have a short attention span or are short on time particularly in today's hectic times.

While most people are familiar with the Nazi Holocaust perpetrated against the Jews in Europe in the Second World War, fewer people are aware that Hitler's homicidal policies extended to the Polish people, as well. Author Richard C. Lukas does an excellent job depicting the nature of the German occupation of Poland in 1939-1944, which resulted in the death of over 3 million Polish citizens who were not Jews. For example, many readers will be surprised to find that the first mass executions committed by the Nazis during the war were against Polish intellectuals and clergy in late 1939 and that the first victims gassed at Auschwitz were Polish civilians. The author also puts a great deal of effort into examining the state of Polish-Jewish relations under the German occupation, as well as the development of the Polish resistance. Overall, this book should help to ameliorate some of the erroneous historiography that has evolved over the years about the Holocaust and lead to a more nuanced view of that catastrophic event.

Forgotten Holocaust consists of seven chapters, beginning with a discussion of the German occupation of Poland. This section details German atrocities against the Poles from A to Z, including street-executions, round-ups, kidnappings, etc. The author also makes the point about how troubling it was for this deeply Catholic country to have their pleas ignored by the pro-German pope in Rome (although the author goes easy on Pope Pius XII - easier than he deserves). In the end, 22 percent of Poland's population died during the German occupation - the greatest percentage loss of any nation in the Second World War. The second chapter covers the Polish Government in Exile and the origins of the underground resistance. Although this chapter is short, it tells a great deal about the internal politics that affected the evolution of the Polish resistance - insights which are usually lacking from other histories that prevent a more homogenized appearance. Chapter three deals with military operations conducted by the underground. One number that I hadn't seen elsewhere was the large number of resistance fighters eliminated in 1942-44 by the Gestapo - upwards of 60,000. Chapter four covers civilian resistance and collaboration (or lack of). The author notes that unlike the German occupation in Western countries, the Germans made no effort to create a collaborationist government in Poland.

Chapters five and six cover the relationship of Poles and Jews during the German occupation. The author strives to fight against the common mis-conception (aided by Steve Spielberg in Schindler's List) that the Polish Government was anti-Semitic and that Poles routinely collaborated with the Germans to annihilate the Jews. In this regard, the author is fairly successful in disputing these slanderous characterizations of Polish collaboration with the Holocaust, but he tends to go off the deep end in trying to refute every charge of anti-Semitism leveled against Poles in the Second World War. Clearly, there were cases where individuals Poles made statements or conducted acts that were inimical to Jewish interests (the author also notes the reverse as well, such as Polish Jews who joined the Anders Army to escape the Soviet Union and then deserted as soon as they reached Palestine). Furthermore, there is also little doubt that Polish Catholicism was reluctant to cooperate with Polish Jews who were openly sympathetic with Communism, viewing them as the vanguard of Soviet imperialism. The charges and counter-charges get a bit tedious in these sections and at best, the issue is left unresolved.

The final chapter covers the Warsaw Uprising. Although not a blow-by-blow account, there was some interesting material herein about weapons stockpiles held by the Home Army, as well as some insight into the German leadership. Overall, this book adds to our understanding of the Second World War in Eastern Europe and should contribute to correcting some of the broad generalizations which have obscured the truth about Nazi extermination policies.

This review focuses on only a few topics in this comprehensive scholarly work, and addresses some of the distortions of other reviewers.

Lukas consistently presents both sides of the story. For this, he has been labeled a "Polish nationalist" or "apologist" of some sort. He clearly is not. For instance, he is critical of Polish disunity in the prewar government and in the Polish Government-in-Exile. He is candid about Polish-German collaboration, and the tactical errors of the Warsaw Uprising. He is unjustifiably harsh on the Polish-Underground NSZ.

Most amazing of all is the assertion that Lukas equates the experiences of Jews and Poles. In actuality, Lukas recognizes the fact that the Nazis targeted the Jews for immediate and total annihilation. (e. g., p. 151). In contrast, the German genocide of Poles focused on the destruction of the intelligentsia, cultural genocide, etc. The total, or near-total, extermination of the Poles was to await the end of the war (pp. 4-5), with the "resettlement" provisions of GENERALPLAN OST possibly/probably being a euphemism for this extermination. [Recall that the extermination of Jews was also disguised as "resettlement".]

Those much-mentioned "Poles who would be Germanized" represented only 3% of the Polish population of the Reich-annexed regions. (p. 24). Furthermore, in German eyes, they were not Poles. They were Germans who had become Polonized, and would now be re-Germanized.

The no-Polish-Quisling-because-the-Germans-never-wanted-one argument (e. g., by Jan T. Gross) is fallacious. The Germans unsuccessfully approached Prince Janusz Radziwill, and others, as prospective Quislings. (pp. 111-112). An Israeli study estimates that about 7,000 ordinary Poles collaborated with the Germans. (p. 117). [This comes out to a vanishing 1 in 4,000 ethnic Poles.] As for the szmalcowniks, there were probably no more than about 1,000 in Warsaw. (pp. 250-251). Contrary to accusations, the Polish Underground did systematically liquidate blackmailers of Jews, and, furthermore, was largely successful in ending their plague in some geographic areas of German-occupied Poland. (p. 119).

The number of Jews who survived in German-occupied Poland is unknown. Figures of 40,000-50,000, 100,000-120,000, and even 200,000 or 300,000 have been quoted. (p. 149). Virtually all had depended on Polish help.

Lukas gingerly defends Bor Komorowski against the charge of his early Underground contacts with the Jews being postwar fabrications. (p. 173). Lukas' account of the scale of Polish aid to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising itself could be greatly expanded and updated. See Two Flags: Return to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Some (e. g. David Engel) have accused the Polish Government-in-Exile of playing down what it knew about Jewish deaths, possibly because of anti-Semitism. Ironic to this, an unnamed British official had asserted, in December 1942, that there was "no reliable evidence" that the Germans were exterminating the Jews, and that Poles were talking TOO MUCH about Jewish deaths--in part to show that they were not anti-Semitic! (p. 160). Go figure.

Lukas' outstanding work is only the beginning. For further, in-depth study of the little-known genocide of Poles, see the Peczkis Listmania: FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST...

Lukas put a new spin on the word anti-Semitism as he methodically & factually moves the reader through generational facts and fiction - ultimately revealing the utterly complicated psychological and physical aspects of the Holocaust. The "Poles" were not the only bystanders - if indeed they were bystanders; and the Jews were not the only victims. Deep within his explanations of history, he makes the reader understand the true misunderstandings of "survival guilt" - and the detrimental effects that occur to perpetuate hatred & blame when misundestandings are allowed to turn into truths. This book is a MUST READ for anyone with an open-mind who wants truth - and anyone willing to trade blame for understanding.

after the recent controversy regarding the village of Jedwabno in Poland this book begins to show the true sign of the common thread approach between Jewish resistance and the Polish underground. The author leaves no holds barred in this book. He specifically tells both sides of the story. While Jedwabno may have been a tragic item the true tragedy is one of the Polish nation be it Jewish or Polish those individuals that gave their lives in the fight against nazism is remembered in the book. One should rad this account before reading the one-sided view of mr gross and his Jedwabno. There were 100's of Jebwabnos on both sides which at least this author had the courage and common sense to point out.